Three Little Words
by SMK KMS
Summary: In the aftermath of Stemwinder, our two favorite spies contemplate their increasingly complicated relationship.


Disclaimers: The characters in this story are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions. I make no money from these characters; I simply like to share their world for a short time.

A/N In the aftermath of Stemwinder, our two favorite spies contemplate their increasingly complicated relationship. Hope you enjoy. A special thanks to Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson—as well as the rest of the cast—for portraying these characters so wonderfully.

Calm and quiet . . . her own bed in her familiar bedroom . . . her mother and her two sons sleeping peacefully just down the hall. That's how it had been only two short weeks ago; that's how it was now. If only the intervening weeks had been like this.

But, of course, they hadn't been. Not that she would have—nor _should_ have—expected any different. Life as the partner of a real-life James Bond was certainly never dull. It seemed that they were always chasing bad guys and dodging bullets.

Being the focus of a D-1 manhunt, however, was definitely something new. So was having to listen to your partner perform a Peacock Dance with a young, beautiful Russian operative. So was running away with the aforementioned partner . . . leaving your family and your home . . . becoming a fugitive of the federal government . . . being labeled a traitor.

Only if none of that had happened, would that partner have ever uttered the three words she had been longing to hear for so very, very long?

Sure, they had been officially dating since that first real kiss in the Q Bureau back in May. Sure, she had known things were getting serious. And sure, she loved her partner—and _had_ almost since the day they had met at that train station three years ago.

While she knew he wasn't one to share his feelings easily, she was just a bit confused. Wait, maybe _confused_ wasn't the right word. _Apprehensive_ . . . that was more accurate. Had he said those three words when he did simply because he was afraid he would never get the chance again? When he looked back over the past two weeks, would he regret saying them? Would he revert to the partner of old who would trot out one of his infamous speeches about things happening simply because they were on a case?

She sincerely hoped not . . . especially since she knew deep down in her heart that they were meant for each other. Theirs was a one-in-a-million, a once-in-a-lifetime love. She refused to believe he would throw that away.

Maybe she was just allowing her nerves to get the better of her. That's it . . . after all, she had been through quite a harrowing series of events. She knew he loved her; she had known it well before he had said the words.

But that didn't mean that, in the back of her brain, there wasn't a little kernel of doubt. A little voice that kept reminding her of all the times their relationship had taken one step forward only to end up sliding three steps back.

Exhaustion was finally taking its toll, and she rolled onto her side with a sigh. As her father used to say, there was no use worrying about tomorrow until it arrived.

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With a glass of scotch in one hand and the television remote in the other, he sat down on his couch with a sigh. What a wild couple of weeks it had been, even for him. It was nice to simply sit on his couch, nurse an expensive glass of scotch, and chill out in front of some mindless show on the television.

Not that the past few weeks were really any different than usual. Life as an intelligence operative of his caliber was never dull. Add a housewife-turned-spy to the mix, and his life had become a never-ending rollercoaster ride.

He had to admit, though, that it wasn't every day that he had the entire Agency hunting for him with a shot-to-kill order. It wasn't every day that he had to cozy up to a Russian operative while his partner listened in secret from his car. Nor was it every day that he had to go on the run from his own people. And it certainly wasn't every day that he was labeled a traitor.

In hindsight, however, it _had_ resulted in his partner uttering those three little words to him—words that he had been hoping to hear since they had first kissed over five months ago. Sure, he had known things were getting serious. Hell, he had loved her for a long, long time. But earlier he had kept waiting for the perfect time to kiss her, allowing a crazy series of interruptions to delay the seemingly inevitable.

He was determined that nothing was going to interrupt his declaration of _love_. That's why he had said it over the phone that day; he was too afraid he would never get the chance again. It was just icing on the cake when he got to say the words again face-to-face. While he was hoping, praying, to hear her say them back to him, he couldn't help but wonder.

He knew her well enough to know that she would not speak those particular words lightly. Yet he was still a little doubtful. Had she said those three words simply because he had said them first? Would she regret saying them when the adrenaline of the case wore off? Would she want to take them back? Maybe even go back to just being partners and friends? After all, what kind of a life could he offer her—especially since she was the mother of two young boys. His life wasn't exactly a stable one.

He sincerely hoped, with every fiber of his being, that she had meant the words as much as he did. Theirs was a one-in-a-million, a once-in-a-lifetime love; he was sure of that fact.

Maybe he was just allowing the scotch to do the talking; he never should have fixed himself the drink. Damn it, he knew she loved him; he had known it well before she had said the words.

It was time to call it a night. There was no use worrying about it . . . tomorrow would take care of itself.

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"Mother, I'm going to take the trash out then go for a nice long walk," she called up the steps. "It's such a gorgeous day, and I just need to get out of the house for a little." That, and check out the silver 'Vette she had spied parked at the end of the block, she thought to herself.

Dotty appeared at the top of the stairs. "No problem, Darling. Take your time. The boys are with their father and I'm headed to my garden club luncheon in a half-hour anyway. Besides, it's Saturday . . . no work, no responsibilities, right? Take your keys; I'll be sure to lock up when I leave." While she wasn't sure exactly what had happened while her daughter was away this past week, she _was_ sure she needed some down time for her own sanity.

Tossing the bag of trash into the can, she stifled a small scream as she felt her partner's arms circle around her waist and his lips find the sensitive spot at the nape of her neck. She should have known he would be lurking in the backyard, as usual.

"Did I hear you say something about a long walk?" he questioned. "Care for some company?"

"I'd _love_ some!" She immediately regretted using the 'L' word, but she couldn't very well take it back.

"Good! It's too _lovely_ a day to spend inside." Why did he have to use the word 'lovely'; he mentally berated himself.

Things got awkward very quickly, both suddenly reminded of the three little words that had been exchanged in the past week and their implication.

Gesturing toward the park at the end of the street, he finally said "Shall we?"

With a small nod, she started off, relaxing a little when she felt his familiar hand at her back. Maybe everything would be okay.

As he felt her relax, he began to do the same. After all, they were partners . . . friends . . . best friends, in fact. Why were they so hesitant with each other all of a sudden?

The short distance was covered in silence, although they did reach for each others' hands . . . beginning to bridge the uncomfortable gap.

By unspoken agreement, they both headed for the baseball diamond in the back of the park, the home team's dugout offering a bit of privacy.

As they sat down, each took a deep breath, willing the other to begin . . . steeling themselves for what they feared was to come.

"Amanda, I . . . "

"Lee, I . . . "

Startled, their eyes finally met as they finished their declaration together . . . "love you."

Both sighed as they left out the collective breath they hadn't realized they were holding.

"I was so afraid . . . " both began again, Lee finally gesturing for Amanda to begin first.

"I was so afraid that you were going to launch into one of your infamous speeches . . . try to pass those words off as part of the case . . . maybe even regret saying them at all."

"I will never regret saying them, Amanda King. I was just so afraid that you only said them because I did . . . that you had gotten caught up in the moment. After all, what do I have to offer you? Certainly not the stable, normal life you deserve."

"Trust me, _normal_ can be highly overrated," she chuckled. "But seriously, I will never regret saying them, either. After all, we have a one-in-a-million . . . "

"a once-in-a-lifetime . . . ," Lee added.

"love," they breathed out together as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

A/N If you notice, some of their thoughts are identical. No, I wasn't lazy . . . just wanted to show how perfect they are for each other . . . how in-tune to each other. So perfect, in fact, that their thoughts are the same even though they are miles apart.


End file.
